In a bind
by constantlywandering
Summary: Draco is... tied up, and it seems like it will be up to Hermione to get him out of trouble. Sweet, light-hearted one shot.


Hope you all enjoy this little peice! A bit of light-hearted fun with our favourite duo x

* * *

Hermione reached the Auror offices, breathing heavily after having practically sprinted from her own in the Department of Law Enforcement.

"Harry, what's wrong? I got your Patronus," she panted. Only then did she survey the scene around her. Harry and Ron stood, smiling sheepishly at her. Next to them, tied up, in a chair was none other than Draco Malfoy, still in his Auror robes, struggling against the bonds. His face was screwed up, muscles straining magnificently as he wriggled and Hermione felt worry deep in her stomach. "Why on earth is he tied up?"

"Ah, you see," Harry began. He glanced at Ron then continued, "Malfoy was hit by a curse."

"Right. I'm not a curse breaker, boys." Hermione didn't see what they were doing. Obviously Draco needed help!

"Hmmn? Yes, we know, Hermione. It's just that, well, Malfoywashitbyalovespell," Ron blurted out.

"What?" Hermione was getting annoyed.

Malfoy took this moment to spot Hermione and shout, "I don't need her! I told you, I can fix this by myself, dammit!"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry turned back to her. "Hermione, Malfoy was hit by a love spell."

There was silence. Hermione gaped. Draco looked stonily at the floor. Harry and Ron seemed to anticipate Hermione's outburst.

"Then why have you called me?" Hermione snapped, purposely not looking at Draco. "Surely you should call Astoria Greengrass, or maybe even Parkinson." She harrumphed and turned her head.

"Granger, for the fucking last time, I do not like Pansy!" Draco yelled.

"Hermione, look," Harry soothed. "You know how this is going to go. We thought we'd make it easier on you. If we leave him it will build up and he'll jump you. All you have to do is give him a ki-"

"I don't like Malfoy!"  
"I don't like Granger!"  
Two voices vehemently opposed him.

Ron sighed. "Told you it was going to go like this, mate," he said to Harry. "Listen Hermione, I'm not happy about it either but it's bloody obvious. Do us all a favour and just kiss him, work out your issues later."

Hermione couldn't help the flash of hurt that ripped through her at Draco's look of disgust.

"Just give him the antidote, Ron! I don't need to be here any longer!" She turned to go, but Ron caught her shoulder.

"St Mungo's have run out. French Quidditch team came for a friendly last week and apparently love spells were being shot left, right and centre. You honestly don't want to leave Malfoy like this for that long, do you?" Ron pleaded.

Hermione paused, torn. She didn't want to leave Malfoy like this - St Mungo's would probably take at least a week, and he'd have to be restrained until then. On the other hand, last time Hermione had kissed Draco, they were both naked, and drunk, and it led to them avoiding each other for the three weeks until now.

"Hermione?" Harry prompted; she'd been staring into space.  
She steeled herself, purposely avoiding Draco's gaze. "I'll do it."  
Harry and Ron both sighed in relief then stared at her expectantly. "Go on then!"

She glared, reddening. "I'm not doing it with you watching! Go away!" Hermione held their gaze and finally Harry relented.  
"Fine," he sighed. "But we'll be waiting right outside."

And then it was just Draco and Hermione. As she approached, Draco seemed to get more antsy, tensing further against the ties. Hermione faced him awkwardly.  
"How should we do this?" she asked, blushing furiously.  
"You know, I really don't need your help, Granger," said Draco, rudely. "I can wait a week."  
Hermione flushed even more, wishing the ground could just swallow her up. Did he really not want to kiss her that badly?  
"Fine!" She spun away, in between anger and hurt. "You wouldn't know a good deed if it smacked you in the face, Malfoy."

"No, Granger, wait!" Draco called out. Hermione turned around and he was looking down at his lap, his own cheeks darkening now. "I - I just mean… you don't have to if you don't want to, you know?" He blurted out in the end.  
Hermione's eyes softened. "I know, Malfoy. I want to help you though."  
"Yeah, of course, Miss Golden Girl can't let an opportunity to help those in need pass her by, right?" His smirk was playful.

Laughing softly, Hermione walked towards him again. She reached him and his breathing accelerated.  
"Merlin, Granger. Do it quickly," Draco panted.  
Her own heart rate wasn't exactly resting now either. She stood to Draco's side, watched his body vibrating, the slants of his jaw and nose and her breath hitched involuntarily. She lowered her face and Draco tilted upwards, and then she was close, her lips ghosting against his before they fully pressed together -

It was wonderful. Fireworks exploded in Hermione's mind as Draco moved his mouth against hers, what was supposed to be a short peck turning into something much more. His lips caressed hers softly before becoming firmer, pulling her in, and she fell down sideways on his lap. Her hands came up to his shoulders, feeling as he tried to pull his hands free to touch her. Hermione was spiralling. How was it that every (of the very few instances) time they kissed Draco was able to spellbind her so? He was the one in ropes yet he was the one calling the shots, sometimes stroking, sometimes demanding as their mouths fused.

Then Draco gave one particularly hard tug on the ties and Hermione shifted on his thighs, the two of them breaking apart, breathing hard.  
They stared at each other.

Hermione's mind was racing, her thoughts spiralling. Surely this was not how a platonic couple kissed? But did this mean Draco really liked her? He was so closed off sometimes, and how could the two of them actually work? She felt her confusion rising and threatening to overwhelm her, she stood up.

"I'm sorry - I…I - hope you're ok," she managed to get out, and with that Hermione rushed out of the room, leaving a flustered, tied up Draco and a bewildered Harry and Ron in her wake.

* * *

Hermione's heart sped up as embarrassment and longing swept over her again for what seemed like the millionth time today. Draco had just locked eyes with her in the canteen before she hurriedly turned around in the other direction.

It had been a week since their kiss, and Hermione was ashamed to say that she'd been actively avoiding him. She didn't know what else to do! After the kiss she had felt sure that Draco was attracted to her, but as time went on she felt herself second guessing — if this went beyond physical attraction, if they could sustain a relationship, and how to actually go about doing that. After Viktor and Ron, she hadn't had a relationship and only had been on a handful of dates, and now she felt under-confident, especially compared to Draco who seemed to have women falling over themselves to get to her.

Walking along the corridor, caught up in these thoughts, she didn't notice anything until suddenly she was pulled into a nearby empty room.  
"What th-?" Hermione blinked, disorientated, until she realised that Malfoy had locked the door and had put himself between her and it. He was staring at her intently with an expression that she couldn't place.

"Why have you been avoiding me, Hermione?"  
She shivered a little inside at the use of her first name and his serious tone. She looked everywhere but his face until she absolutely had no choice and had an intake of breath at the intensity of his gaze.  
"I don't know," she answered softly. "I guess I wasn't sure of what we do now."  
Draco laughed disbelievingly, and she couldn't help it, her embarrassment flared up into anger. She tried to storm out of the room, but he was in her way and grabbed her forearm, spinning her into him and he bent down to capture her mouth in a bruising kiss.

She responded instinctively, going up on her toes and leaning into him, their lips melding together before she realised and pulled back.  
"We can't keep kissing our problems away, Draco!"  
"Well, you won't talk to me! Tell me straight if you want this or not Hermione, because I won't keep putting my pride on the line." He turned away, running his hand through his hair in frustration.  
"Your pride! Aside from physical contact we've only just begun to be friends! I see you with a different witch every month!" Hermione shouted, annoyed.  
"I have initiated the kiss every time, Granger! And now you run away and decide the best course of action is to never speak to me again."  
Hermione stilled at that, because she had no defence. She stopped and looked down. Time to be brave and sort this out.  
"I'm sorry for that. I was confused and didn't know what to do." She glanced up to find Draco looking at her with something akin to respect on his face.

He sighed and leaned on a nearby table.  
"For what it's worth, I apologise also. Those women aren't serious for me, you know," said Draco. He got up and went to her, and she stood her ground.  
"Now that you apologised first," he smirked and Hermione huffed. "Could I take you out to dinner this Friday night?"  
Hermione paused just to make him squirm.  
"No," she grinned at his look of defeat. "I'm busy Friday, will Saturday do?" She asked quickly.  
Draco let out a breath, relieved. "Very funny." He reached out and gripped her hip briefly. "Yes, Saturday is fine. I'll pick you up at seven."  
With that, he leaned down, cupped her face and pressed a soft kiss to Hermione's cheek and smiled at her before heading out.

Hermione stayed back, processing. She'd just accepted a date with Draco Malfoy! Maybe love spells did have some truth after all.

* * *

Leave a review! Hoped you liked this fun little story as I had a great time writing it.


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